Former Delhi police chief sees vindication in Dec 16 verdict

Former Delhi police Commissioner Neeraj Kumar, who faced severe flak amid nationwide outrage following the December 16 gangrape, today described the court verdict as a moment of "catharsis" and absolute vindication.
"Today it is a moment of catharsis, a moment of absolute vindication and also a moment to be grateful to the almighty that he has helped us in every stage in bringing this case to its conclusion," he said.
Kumar, who had demitted office on July 31, oversaw investigation into the sensational case that had triggered massive protests across the city. Police had come under severe attack and Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit has even demanded Kumar's resignation.

Asked whether death sentence is the fitting punishment for convicts in the case, he said, "As a former police officer, I go by what is there in our statute and in our laws the maximum punishment is there is death and therefore death be it."
Replying to another question on whether in his opinion the case qualified in the rarest of the rare category, Kumar said, "without any doubt".
"It is the rarest of rare case as the sheer brutality, the manner in which it was pre-planned, the manner in which the young couple was lured into the bus and the manner in which it was executed. I don't want to go into gory details but if this was not the rarest of rare, then nothing else is," he said.

A fast track court handed down death sentenced to Akshay Thakur, Vinay Sharma, Pawan Gupta and Mukesh Singh for the gangrape and murder of a 23-year-old physiotherapy student inside a bus on December 16 last year.

Another police official, who was in they eye of the storm following the case and who led the investigation, Chhaya Sharma, the then Deputy Commissioner of police of south Delhi where the crime occurred, said, "Today, the court has put a stamp on what we believed, in our story, it has validated our stand."
Sharma, who currently is Deputy Inspector General of police in Mizoram, recalls, "In those days when everybody was just bashing us, the good part was that the victim's family was with us and they believed in us."

"My team worked really hard in investigating the case. My work was to insulate them. It was a perfect example of team work as people worked tirelessly, non-stop for days.
"When the judge appreciated us on Tuesday as he convicted the four accused, it actually felt sweet, like a pat on the back because in those days, everybody was just bashing us and nobody looked at the hard work," she said.